“I thought the verdict would be not guilty,” said Taunton police Officer James Costa, who serves as court liaison officer for the district court and police department.

But Costa said he’s not second-guessing the Taunton-born judge’s decision in the non-jury trial — which drew national attention during its eight-day run.

“Judge Moniz is a great guy and a great judge, very deliberate and very fair,” said Costa, who also praised the entire Taunton Trial Court staff for handling the trial in a “very professional” manner.

Moniz found Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her 18-year-old boyfriend, Conrad Roy of Mattapoisett, to follow through with his attempt to kill himself in the parking lot of a Kmart in Fairhaven.

It wasn’t until the next day, on July 13, 2014, that police found the body of Roy in his pickup truck; Roy was dead of carbon monoxide poisoning after hooking up a water pump and inhaling deadly exhaust fumes.

It came out at trial that Carter, who was 17 at the time, sent a text message July 12 urging Roy to “get back in” after he’d stepped out of the vehicle when he began feeling sick from the engine fumes.

Local defense lawyer James Fagan said, like many other observers, he too at first thought a guilty verdict would be a long shot.

“My initial impression was that it would not meet the burden of proof,” Fagan said.

“Although it seems to be a despicable act, I wouldn’t have bet that it would amount to a manslaughter charge,” he said.

But Fagan stressed that even an experienced trial lawyer such as himself can ultimately reach a different conclusion, once he or she has heard and considered all the evidence and arguments of lawyers for both sides.

Moniz, he said, apparently was swayed by two major revelations.

Fagan said the text message from Carter telling Roy to “get back in” and go through with his suicide attempt was in itself damning.

Fagan said that, combined with the fact that Carter — who knew that Roy previously attempted suicide — never called Roy’s sister or mother or Fairhaven police to let them know what was happening, likely convinced Moniz that Carter engaged in “wanton and reckless conduct” resulting either in bodily harm or death.

“I certainly can’t dispute his reasoning,” Fagan, 69, said of Moniz, whom he called “very, very thoughtful and studious.”

“I feel he gave his decision full and fair consideration (and) his remarks were very instructive for all who listened,” said Fagan, who also said he expects the Carter case will possibly result in new criminal laws covering online social-media messaging.

“It sets a whole new precedent in Massachusetts,” he said.

Fagan also said he has high regard for defense attorney Joseph Cataldo.

“I know he’ll be second-guessed” for waiving a jury trial, Fagan said, “but he’s a very bright young guy” who knew that a jury would likely be swayed by emotion.

Taunton Police Lt. Eric Nichols expressed a similar thought while watching the television broadcast of Moniz delivering his decision and remarks.

“There could be legislation for a new (criminal) law,” he said.

Nichols, 49, said it’s logical to expect that a new criminal statute might be written, much in the way, he said, that laws were adopted to crack down on adults using the internet to solicit meetings with minors.

“It’s definitely an interesting case,” he said of the Carter trial. “It seemed like opinion was split 50-50.”

Carter was tried as a “youthful offender,” meaning that she’s subject to adult sentencing guidelines, which in the case of an involuntary manslaughter conviction has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Moniz released her on her own recognizance and scheduled sentencing for Aug. 3.

The intense media coverage of the past week and a half was good for business, said David Patrick and his wife Donna Miranda, who own and operate D&D Diner at 22 Broadway.

“It was great for us,” said Patrick, who said that his business increased 30 to 40 percent as result of the trial.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for Jim O’Donnell, owner of Park News at 28 Broadway, located directly next to the trial court building.

O’Donnell said media vehicles were not being ticketed after taking up parking spaces in front of his store without paying for parking-kiosk receipt.

“I finally called the mayor’s office, and within a day and a half, it was taken care of. And I’m very grateful for it,” said O’Donnell.”

An employee of Brennan’s Smoke Shop at 1 Broadway, who would only identify himself as Jesse, 25, said the past week and a half has been “the busiest” he’s seen, in terms of cigarette and cigar sales, since he began working there three weeks ago.

Local historian and former Taunton High School history teacher Bill Hanna says he and Moniz graduated together in 1968 from Monsignor James Coyle High School.

Moniz, he said, went on to teach English at Taunton High School in the 1970s and '80s, during which he attended law school at night.

“I’ve always said if I had to go to trial I would want Larry on the bench,” said Hanna, who said that Moniz, before being appointed as a juvenile judge, garnered high regard both as an English teacher and later as an attorney during his partnership with the late Francis O’Boy of Taunton.

One local woman said she doesn’t have much sympathy for Carter, whose lawyer argued that she had been battling depression and taking antidepressant medication.